Woodworking: How to eliminate planer snipe for small projects

[@brendaarmstrong3624]

I am new to woodworking and have searched extensively about planer snipe. Your remedy and thought process are the best I have seen and understood. I will share this video with teachers of our middle school Maker Space program.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, Brenda! :) I appreciate that

[@markhopkins7204]

Really dig the cutting board diversity!. Matters not where the snipe is as long as it isn't an irritant! GOOD JOB!!!!

[@scottcarpenter910]

You’re solution for this problem is the best I’ve seen yet. I’ll be using this method for sure. I appreciate you taking the time to make the video and posting it, thank you sir

[@FishersShop]

Glad you liked it, Scott. Thanks for watching!

[@davidnleeh4]

Thank you very much for this tip!!! I surely needed it as I am new to planning and just recently bought myself my own planer and need ALL the Tips and Tricks that I can get!!! Thank you again!

[@FishersShop]

Glad it was helpful

[@williambranham6249]

I'VE watched most anti-snipe videos. Your's is a winner. Good production as well.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks William! Thanks for watching!

[@whisperinrod56]

William is correct, this video is also the best one I've seen. Thank for sharing.

[@kathleenbasieiwcz4636]

I always wondered why that couldn't be done, and now you have proved it works. Thanks for the great video.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks Kathleen! :)

[@mr.b.w.3146]

As with a lot of things, preparation is the key. Nice end result.

[@glennfelpel9785]

Wonderful idea for the sled. Very well thought out. Thank you for sharing this.

[@FishersShop]

You're welcome, Glenn. Thanks for watching.

[@steveraymond7277]

I’m going to give this a go. Thanks for the tip

[@FishersShop]

Have fun!

[@governmentflu81]

Love to see the finished piece. Cool design.

[@benbrubaker7896]

Thanks for another well thought out idea and thanks for sharing. I have used several of the below mentioned techniques with varying degrees of success. Your results speak for themselves. Cutting boards have way too many hours invested in them to HOPE the snipe or blow out will not be a problem.

[@FishersShop]

I agree, Ben! It's worth taking the time to make a sled for each board just to be sure.

[@Winterborn3420]

Don't even have a planar yet. And now I know what to do to avoid Snipe right from the very start. Thank you!

[@Method_MOK]

great solution(s) for small batches to kill snipe on the project piece -- the extra insurance against tearout was an unexpected bonus -- thanks for this!

[@ChinJazz]

Nice! It’s particularly relevant for me as I make laminated guitar necks. I also like your low tech idea for a longer flat melamine table to go on top of the planer table.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks Adam!

[@ryanpeart2108]

OH thank you Drew! - I thought it was just my planer which did that. And it even has a name! Some genius ideas on this channel which I shall be attempting to mimic....

[@mchtzn]

Very good solution for that problem wich I have also. I am gonna do that also in my future cutting boards :)

[@Syed.S.A]

Awesome, great idea, solved my problem

[@FishersShop]

Glad it helped

[@grahamh1067]

it's odd going this far back in your videos and not having all the witty narrated commentary. that said, the comment in your video is still top notch! I'm having sniping issues on some of the projects I'm working on so I went in search of how to fix it. I hadn't seen this video from you before now, but like many other comments on here, this one takes the cake. I also like how simple your in/outfeed table is. now if only i had found this video before, i could have saved myself a ton of sanding. next time i guess!

[@paulrafter6715]

Nice work 👍 thanks for sharing 😊

[@tomx63]

thanks! great method for moving the snipe away from the work piece. also, what a cool looking cutting board!

[@FishersShop]

Thanks Tom. 😀

[@BernhardHofmann]

"... and if you didn't I don't really give..." ROFL. Absolutely the best attitude dude. I'm watching on my lunch break at home and my wife is knitting on the sofa. BOTH of us cracked up at that comment. 🤣👍

[@FishersShop]

Haha, thanks for watching

[@lucaswilson907]

wow! this is exactly what i was looking for. thank you so much!!!!

[@FishersShop]

Glad it was helpful!

[@rogpla78]

I was building a hall table out Cherry. The width of my table top was 15.5 could not fit it through my jointer and I put through my planet just the way it was shown in the video. Perfectly flat Thanks a lot.

[@revgeorgemurray]

I love the idea of the sled.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, George! It's worked out wonderfully for me so far.

[@jezaelp]

Great info. It's appreciated. Defiantly I will try it . Thanks a lot. Have good one bud.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, you too!

[@NabilAbdelRahmanDEEB]

Thanks for the simplest and most genius idea, you've got a new subscriber.. Keep up the good work, good luck.

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, Nabil. Glad to have ya.

[@MilanPotterSmith]

Great Idea thanks for the help and Great looking board.

[@CogentConsult]

Nice solution! Love it!

[@eriklambert9059]

Thanks again for another helpful video!! Love your channel!

[@FishersShop]

You're welcome, Erik! Glad you like it

[@dpmeyer4867]

good idea.......I have also tried gluing long strips to the edges...seems to work well, but I have to saw off the strips later. I will have to try your method.

[@clandry1234]

Just make a couple of boards in the blue up extra long and don't cross cut the ends until after you do the planing. That way your work can be the full width of your planer. You still might need a sled if it doesn't sit flat when you start.

[@MNBDH34]

Actually you did give a rip to those side boards. Excellent video.

[@bertlamontagne2513]

VERY NICE!!! Best advice!!! 🤓👍🏻

[@goalie1020]

Great idea for eliminating chip out!

[@bowlchamps37]

This is where high quality products come into play.

[@Dave51262]

Great idea and the results prove it out.

[@TheMarcostube]

Nice job

[@amwartwork]

beautiful. i love it when ppl use evrry little piece of scrap. shows they have an imagination and an appreciation of almost everything. did you oil this board?

[@FishersShop]

Yes of course! Gotta oil it up before use

[@stevehart5307]

Great video

[@FishersShop]

Thanks!

[@markquinlan4876]

Fabulous as were the cutting boards. Come on, it's okay to give a rip. We have matching home appliance dings as well. My joiner got pissy...Love the channel, enjoy your content and the editing is spot on. Really appreciate your contributions to the craft. Subscribed and thumbs-upededed. Yep, I wrote that but only because I do give a rip. Best woodworking.

[@FishersShop]

Haha, thanks Mark!

[@jasonlockhart3168]

Well done. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely try this next project.

[@ednealis1759]

outstanding video, six stars.

[@davidnleeh4]

Nice pun, "PLANELY" for when you are discussing a Plane(r)...😂😂👍👍👍👍

[@bullfrogpondshop3179]

I've had success eliminating/moving snipe by simply leaving one or two of the glued strips extra long on both ends. Snipe occurs on the ends of the long pieces, which get cut off after planing.

[@vileguile4]

Such an easy solution.. clever! :)

[@stevel9353]

To make the glued pieces easier to remove, sandwich a piece of paper between a layer of glue on the work piece and each piece of wood you added. You can hit the extra pieces of wood with a hammer and it will split the paper.

[@bullfrogpondshop3179]

@@stevel9353 Why go to all that trouble? Just leave two pieces of the final project longer. The snipe will be on the ends of the longer pieces. Simply cut off the extra length (containing the snipe) after planing.

[@paulskvorc7021]

@@bullfrogpondshop3179 Great Idea! Waste AT LEAST 6" of every board you plane. If you can't afford to waste of $15 per board ($30/bf of exotic lumber) then you should find another hobby/profession. Try to recognize the sarcasm before responding.

[@DZAntiSioniste]

perfect

[@rakeyohn222]

Nice job.

[@LifeHappensLetsFixIt]

"If you don't like it, I don't really give a rip!"" 😂 Maybe you give a crosscut... (groan)

[@MrFinn]

great work! thanks for this ;)

[@mikem9251]

Good Idea! Thanks!

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, Mike!

[@edejamircosta]

Excelente idéia, parabéns. Vou fazer um desses para meu uso. Valeu...

[@papasteve215]

great job, thanks

[@NomadMakes]

This is such a great idea! I will use your trick here for sure. By the way, I found your channel through suggestions made in the comments on one of Steve Ramsey's channel. Subbed and love your vids.

[@FishersShop]

Welcome!

[@veepsgarage]

great tip!

[@adamstephen5881]

Great vid!!

[@Dingbat217]

Great trick, thanks for sharing! :-)

[@peggyraun-linde6336]

It’s so cool to see your earlier videos. Great then. Great now. Do you still use this sled idea? Updated version?

[@FishersShop]

Yes, I still use this technique when making cutting boards. However, I get much less snipe now with the helical head in the planer.

[@bobsbarnworkshop]

I have the same kind of snipe on my Delta planer. I believe what causes it is that there are two drive rollers in the top of the planer that drive the piece through. What happens is when the end of the work piece passes under the back roller and is only under the front roller, the piece springs up a bit. I also have a 22" wide drum sander, so I can give my pieces a quick sanding to take off the sniped area.

[@hellkell8693]

When the roller is not supported it drops. It also drops the cutter slightly. So the roller and cutter cocks. That’s the reason for the snipe.

[@VinceEspositoJr]

How narrow do you think the sacrificial boards can be and still hold the project board securely? Thanks.

[@FishersShop]

They actually don't even really have to hold it. The small cleats in the front and back hold it securely enough. The side boards just need to be strong enough to hold up the rollers within.

[@VinceEspositoJr]

@@FishersShop Prob 3/4" minimum I guess...

[@wumpa100]

Great Vid Keep it up !!

[@DavidPyro]

Can I hot glue the sides of my sled instead of screwing them down?

[@FishersShop]

Sure

[@Marcus_Caius]

Good technique... cut the back stop height shorted like 1/2" so it do not get hit by the planer cutters. It is always risky to plane against the grain. thanks for sharing.

[@FishersShop]

For the back stop to eliminate tearout, it has to be the same height as the project piece. Yes, it can be risky to plain against the grain on unsupported pieces so just fasten it in as well as you can. And if it ends up getting chewed up, well better IT than your project piece.

[@BronkBuilt]

Great tip! Next time try trained beavers. They never leave any snipe.

[@amwartwork]

even the 600 pound dewalt creates snipe. which is why i went for the triton tp125. was 350.

[@TheRuko15]

do you make a new sled for each cutting board?

[@FishersShop]

Yup. Only takes a few minutes.

[@robm9772]

What did you clamp your infeed/outfeed board to? I can’t tell.

[@FishersShop]

The bar of the clamps is just positioned against the infeed and outfeed beds to keep the board extension from sliding forward or back.

[@Brian-dr2yi]

Great idea. But it seems like a lot of work for only 1 piece. Youd have to completely rebuild the sled if you have a piece that's different dimensions. However it's the best idea so far.

[@kefeng6805]

Can you please explain how you used F clamp to mount the melamine board on the bottom of your planer?

[@FishersShop]

I didn’t clamp it to the bottom. I simply added the clamps on both sides so that it can’t slide out.

[@clausfriishansen2247]

Ohhh...I've used a sledge to straighten glue ups (have no jointer) but even then it didn't occur to be to use the sledge in a sacrificial manner. Ply, pine aso being MUCH cheaper than hardwood in Denmark that's an idea I'll get to use a lot !! Thanks :)

[@FishersShop]

Glad you liked it, Claus!

[@mikeschuneman4049]

Would this be a better choice than making your work piece longer?

[@hellkell8693]

You could but you’d be wasting project wood. You can use cheap scrap wood for the side rails.

[@zzgarden]

@@hellkell8693 Good application for pallet wood that's otherwise too ugly for project work.

[@bonenfant96]

I have a King planer and even with sacrificial boards, I still get snipes, both end.

[@ColtJustice]

After planing it the first time, and the one side was perfectly flat, was it necessary to put it back in the sled, and why? I would think that if one side is known to be flat, it would plane to that. Be gentle, I'm new at this. :)

[@FishersShop]

Hey ColtJustice (I like the name, I'm a big gun guy too), thanks for watching! The purpose of the sled is really to move the snipe to the boards that stick out in front and behind. So even if you have one side perfectly flat, you can still get bad snipe on it if it's not in the sled. Hope that makes sense

[@ColtJustice]

Okay, cool. I partially understand it, but I'm sure I'll fully understand it as I learn more. Thanks for responding.

[@MAGAMAN]

Basically, snipe is cause by the wood only being supported by one of the rollers when the wood is entering the blade or when leaving the blade of the thickness planer and causes a small dent in the wood on either end. By adding the sacrificial boards, he is moving the point where the work piece is only supported by one roller outside of the area he wants to keep flat, so the snipe is only on the sacrificial boards.

[@theycallmecoop]

This is why I use a hand plane lol good ol faithful

[@utai4571]

Well, i liked the video for sure, it's a good tip, but i'm pissed that there is no manufacturer's solution for snipes, i mean how hard can it be to fix such a simple issue on machines? And i've seen this type of issue on professional machinery that cost the price of a car, it shoudln't be that hard and such a headache inducer to fix and setup .

[@dennisfahlstrom7422]

Utaï I completely agree. I don’t think US tool designers “give a rip” about snipe on planers or dust collection on any tools. Leave it to the Germans with Festool to come up with solutions ...and then charge us a kings ransom for a better tool.

[@graememudie7921]

Nice. Could you have not have put it through the planer before squaring it. Would this not have had the same effect? I.e. The snipe would be on the parts you would be cutting off.

[@FishersShop]

Good question! The issue is that I didn't trim off all that much actually and the snipe usually shows up about 2-3 inches in on each end. So if you had plenty of overhang, your idea would definitely work and save you a step.

[@Honu425]

Overkill for an easily remedied problem. Snipe is a function of the width of the planer roller/cutter head assembly. The outer pressure rollers are rubber and therefore flexible (to a very small degree). When the first roller is moved past the end of the project it "drops" a very small amount. The result is a "new" plane for the cutter to work against. That's not a function of manufacturers not caring but pure geometry. The solution is simple and you have half of it. The sled you installed in your planer goes a long way because it also eliminates flex observed by the infeed and outfeed tables which is caused by the pressure of the cutter head assembly. The remaining part of the solution to your illustrated problem is to rip all of your project (cutting board) pieces to the same width prior to glue up, and then add an additional longer sacrificial piece to each side of the assembly during glue up. The cutter assembly will stay at the same height when passed over the project portion because it will be held up by the sacrificial pieces on the outsides. Don't worry about tear out at the end. When the planer operation is complete and you are at your desired thickness, go back to the table saw and rip the sacrificial pieces off. Also run the board through on the crosscut direction to clean up any tear out that occurred. This very procedure is well documented on youTube.

[@ta1ntv1lle39]

"How to eliminate planer snipe for small projects" "well, it doesn't eliminate it, it moves it" 😂😂😂

[@ATAsgard1]

To save wood - could you just cut out the middle section of those outside pieces? They would still "eat" the snipe where they "overhang" the work piece, but then you'd have a good chunk of wood for more sacrifices in the future.

[@FishersShop]

Yes I suppose so. It would just take a bit more work and time, but yes... you could do that.

[@WoodworkingBrewer]

I shall steal your idea as my cheap crappy U.K. one does the same.

[@FishersShop]

Have at it! :)

[@jarrodpharr2761]

Bloopers!!! Where are my bloopers??? Did you record this with no mistakes???

[@FishersShop]

You found a pretty old video of mine. I never made mistakes back then!

[@marcelinanoss8825]

nice video, but some constructive criticism? :) When you are doing the construction part of the video, dont speed it up so fast as we are trying to see what you are doing. Thanks

[@scottfindley9410]

From the look of you in the beginning of the video you should have stolen your neighbors coffee pot before making this video. lol As always great info Drew!

[@robertmcgurk7587]

Cool

[@FishersShop]

Thanks, Robert!

[@fveggerby]

Don't clean up the ends before. Then tear-out will be on the off-cut.

[@FishersShop]

Not a bad idea, thanks

[@foxtowercommunications]

I don't mean to snipe, but ... Set to 2x speed. You're welcome! :) Otherwise, great video. V helpful!

[@sethbrandes2979]

Perhaps a faster method would be to simply CA glue sandwiched between painters tape those side rails to the sides of the slab - no need for a sled, no need to pre-glue sacrificial boards, no need to cut off said sacrificial boards, can still account for shimming etc

[@shakdidagalimal]

grrr didn't finish the 2nd side and show the thickness equal...

[@vtbn53]

It's a great concept, but can anyone think of a way of doing it affordably? I can't really afford to sacrifice any of my precious timber.

[@onefifthtoofifthwedfifthbr5371]

I don’t really give a rip

[@mikhailmikhail5265]

How much unnecessary chatter!..